LOS ANGELES, California -- The world of showbiz was reeling today as Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise admitted in an interview with Vanity Fair that he "has heterosexual feelings" at times.

Cruise, 50, has long been dogged by rumours about his sexuality, and in the past has been dismissive of suggestions that he has an "eye for the ladies". Before this latest revelation, the closest he had come to any kind of admission was in a 2007 interview with Men's Health when he reflected, "Look, I can find women attractive. I can appreciate them aesthetically. I can say, that is an attractive woman. But I think that's completely normal. There's a big difference between thinking a woman is good looking, objectively, and actually thinking about engaging in sex with her, or considering it."

This latest interview changes all that, and calls into question some of his more fervent past denials of heterosexual behavior. Most notable were his suspicious relationships with Mimi Rodgers, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz and Katie Holmes, all of which Cruise insisted were platonic. Of Kidman, with whom he was linked for 6 years, Cruise famously said, "I don't know how to put it. Nicole Kidman is beautiful. But she's not hot. You know what I mean? It would be like doing it to an icicle."

More recently, in 2011 two Chinesemasseuses came forward with accusations that Cruise had fondled them inappropriately. The case never made it to court, but Cruise's promotion of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol suffered greatly after one of the girls, Du Yo Fang, spoke luridly about the alleged experience. "He seem obsess with my breast, and reached for my va-china. Everything of woman, he like. The bit that make me different to man. Veeery heterosexual."

The full interview is set to be published next month, so the Hollywood rumor-mill will have to content itself with the titbits that Vanity Fair sees fit to release in the meantime. One thing is certain, Cruise - and his agent - will be hoping that his impossibly stellar career will be durable enough to withstand the potential shock and anger that such an admission could provoke.